Climbing through anxiety, depression

In 2013, climbing got me hooked. The great outdoors and homey climbing gyms have kept my love rolling on and off for nearly four years. Pipe dreams of grand outdoor climbs and higher grades slowly became attainable. Climbing is what I turned to after relocating and during hard times.

While my location, mood and skill level never stayed the same, one single fact about my climbing career has held constant: I am happy climbing.

This could be a generalization. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. That chemical interacts with receptors in your brain to reduce perceptions of pain and trigger positive feelings in the body. Endorphins could be the reason for my happy climbing.

However, climbing a wall is nowhere near the same as running a few miles or lifting weights, both being activities that require strength and release endorphins, but use minimal thought process.

Climbing is equally a physical and mental game. See a problem: solve it. Think slowly, move statically and keep breathing steady. The process of climbing a wall is therapeutic and, even if I started a route feeling down and irritable, the slate is wiped clean in the middle of a route.

A good majority of my climbs are like active therapy sessions. During a climb, muscles that normally go unused are strained and mental and emotional puzzles are constantly in my face.

Can’t finish a climb you once considered easy? Try accepting it in the moment and attempting another route. No idea how to start that project your dreaming of? Swallow your pride and ask someone for a beta.

The reality is that climbers look out for each other and, due to the relaxed nature of the sport, it is only competitive when you want it to be.

It turns out that there are reasons for what I call “climbing therapy.” In their 2015 study on the effects of rock climbing, a research team from BMC Psychiatry found that climbing strategies can be used as coping mechanisms for depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses.

“While some psychiatric hospitals in Germany already use rock climbing as a therapeutic approach, to date, there have been only case reports or small observational studies on the effects of bouldering or rock climbing in the psychotherapeutic field. These studies on therapeutic climbing suggest that there might be positive effects on anxiety, ADHS, depression, cognition, self esteem, as well as in the social domain.”

The researchers conducted a pilot study where waitlist controlled groups would participate in once-a-week, three-hour-long bouldering sessions spanning over eight consecutive weeks.

Bouldering is an extremely accessible sport (all you need are climbing shoes and a rock) that requires the best of your focus and strength. This makes bouldering as a substitute or additional treatment a feasible option.

In the sessions, participants would learn mindfulness-breathing techniques, learn different ways of bouldering the same problem, discover healthy handling of limitations, what to do when faced with fear, anxiety and panic and how to trust yourself and accept help from others.

This study struck a major chord with me due to my not-so-recent inability to leave my bed and inconvenient struggles to breathe because of anxious thoughts. After reading this study, I connected the dots between what tactics I use when faced with a difficult climb versus when I am overcome by anxiety or my symptoms of depression.

During a challenging climb, I focus more on my breath and try to move slowly to the next move. When anger, disappointment and shame take over, the route becomes even more difficult. I never understood people that could “get angry” to complete a project. When I get angry, I slip off holds.

When my thoughts get crazy and anxious or, in a more extreme case, during a panic attack, breathing, working slowly through what I feel and allowing friends to help calm me down is all that helps. Getting angry at myself and feeling shame just pushes me further away from feeling O.K. again.

In 2014, 15.7 million adults ages 18 or older had at least one major depressive episode, defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as “a period of two weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure and at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image.”

Anxiety disorders, including general anxiety disorders, panic disorders, and social anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the United States, affecting 18 percent of the population.

Treatment ranges from positive thinking to medication, therapy and actively managing anxious and depressive thoughts.

So, it only makes sense this study found that “given that one of the main symptoms of depression is rumination, strengthening mindfulness and concentration has often been shown to be an efficient therapeutic approach.”

Climbers in the study were taught to react to panic and fear of a bouldering problem and/or a bouldering move by looking at the route differently and breathing through anxiety. They were encouraged to trust and encourage other climbers by spotting and helping them through climbs, while also practicing accepting help themselves.

Participants faced physical, cognitive and emotional challenges with bouldering and left with coping mechanisms for mental obstacles.

This just goes to show: life is but a bouldering problem.